


And All the Fears You Hold So Dear (Will Turn to Whisper in Your Ear)

by xtremeroswellian



Series: Highway From Hell [3]
Category: Smallville, Supernatural
Genre: Avoidance, Clark being judgmental, Dean's Fear of Flying, Friendship, Gen, JLA - Freeform, Joining the JLA, Post-breakup fights, Sam and Dean really don't like Clark, Tension, cold shoulder, recruiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23970451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Sam and Dean start to sort out their places among the JLA, while Chloe and Clark struggle with being around one another after a harsh breakup.
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Dean Winchester, Chloe Sullivan & Sam Winchester, Chloe Sullivan/Clark Kent (Past), Sam Winchester & Dean Winchester
Series: Highway From Hell [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721413
Kudos: 2





	And All the Fears You Hold So Dear (Will Turn to Whisper in Your Ear)

Dean stared at Chloe in disbelief. "Happy Harbor." 

Chloe barely managed to repress her grin. "Yep." 

He shook his head. "Leave it to a bunch of superheroes to pick a place that has a meaning to go along with sunshine and rainbows." 

A short chuckle escaped her and she glanced at Sam, who was engaged in a conversation with Victor as they waited on the others to arrive. 

"So Rhode Island." 

"The one and only," Bart said with a grin as he stepped into Chloe's apartment. 

Dean rolled his eyes. "Didn't anyone tell you it was impolite to eavesdrop?" 

"Who's eavesdropping? The door's wide open." He smirked and glanced behind him, watching as Oliver, A.C., and Clark Kent walked into the apartment. 

He clenched his fists. "Buddy, don't make me reconsider." 

Oliver shot Bart a look, and the younger man quickly shut up. "Dean. Sam." He shook both their hands, offering them a friendly smile. 

"Oliver," the two said in unison. 

"Bruce is gonna meet us there." 

"And Dinah?" Oliver asked, raising his eyebrows. 

"Not sure she was going to make it," Victor reported, shrugging. 

Dean looked between each of them. "Right..." 

Chloe shifted a little closer to him. "Couple other League members you haven't met yet." 

He nodded. "Got it." 

She smiled a bit but caught sight of Clark gazing at her, and her smile faded as she looked away. 

"My jet will be ready for take-off in an hour," Oliver told them. 

"Ah, no can do, Ollie." 

His eyebrows furrowed. "Too soon?" 

"No, not too soon. But I don't do flying," Dean informed him. 

"Oh." If that surprised Oliver, he didn't let it show. "Do you wanna take your own car then? Or should I arrange for ground transportation?" 

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he turned to Chloe. "I thought you gave him your research." 

She smirked and looked at Oliver. "He's a little bit attached to his car." 

"A little bit? Are you kidding? She's my baby!" 

"He's not kidding," Sam said wryly. 

Oliver gave him a weird look anyway. "Okay, then. You drive and meet us there. I assume Chloe told you where we're going?"

"Yep. Your Happy place." 

A.C. laughed. "I like him. He's got a good sense of humor." 

Chloe shook her head a little in amusement. 

Chloe looked up and caught Clark's eyes for a moment, then turned and headed into her kitchen. 

Clark followed her into the room and leaned against the wall. "Chloe." 

"Clark." She didn't turn around to face him. 

“How come you're avoiding me?" He asked quietly. 

"I wasn't aware we'd been on speaking terms in the recent past," she said evenly. 

He winced. "What did I do?" 

"Other than my cousin?" 

"That's what this is about?" 

She turned to face him, expression of disbelief on her face. 

"What do you want me to say? You were getting distant. No matter what I did, I couldn't get you to come back to me." 

"Don't you turn this around on me," she snapped. "There's only one cheater in this room and it's not me." 

He narrowed his eyes. "Maybe if you had been there even half as much as Lois, we'd still be together." 

Her face paled. "Get out of my kitchen." Her voice was low. 

"Gladly," he said darkly, turning and leaving. 

Hot tears prickled at her eyes and she turned her back to his retreating figure, fingers curling around the edge of her countertop. 

A few minutes later, Dean stepped into the room. "They're ready." 

"I'm not going." 

He frowned. "Why not?" 

She forced herself to take a deep breath, keeping her back to him and trying to come up with a reasonable excuse to sit this one out. 

"Does it have anything to do with Blue?" 

"Blue?" She snorted involuntarily. 

"That's all I've ever seen him in," he joked lightly. 

Despite her misery a smile tugged at her lips. "It'd probably just be best for everyone if I stay here this time." 

"You could ride with us, you know." 

The thought actually hadn't occurred to her. "I don't wanna invade your space." 

"You won't. The backseat is huge," he smirked. 

She rolled her eyes and turned to look at him. "Funny." 

"But true," he defended. 

"I don't know. Sure your girl won't get jealous?" She smirked. 

"I think she knows that she's my number one," his own smirk widened. 

Amusement glittered in her eyes. "All right." 

He grinned. "Okay. I'll go tell them you'll be hitching a ride with us." 

She nodded and watched him go, faint smile on her face. In the front, he cleared his throat loudly and waited for the chatter to settle. 

Sam glanced at him. "What is it?" 

"Chloe's riding with us." 

He didn't miss the sour look on Clark's face at the announcement. "Okay." 

Kate: Dean caught Clark's eye and gave him a cocky smirk. "Let’s get this show on the road." 

Sam stared up at the mountain from the parking lot. "Uh, I don't see anything...unless the hiding spot is the forest." 

Chloe shrugged a little, grabbing her duffel out of the backseat and hauling it onto her shoulder. "It's hidden." 

"Of course it is," Dean mumbled. 

"Wouldn't be a secret headquarters if it wasn't," she pointed out, heading up the path. 

"I knew that!" He called after her. 

Sam watched her go, then glanced at Dean sideways. "I feel like I missed something." 

"Don't ask me. I don't know anything." 

"She was pretty quiet," he remarked, starting to follow her up the trail. 

He nodded. "Yeah, I know." 

Sam sighed softly. 

"I think her and Clark had a fight." 

His eyes narrowed instantly at the mention of Clark's name. 

"I know. I don't like him either," he lowered his voice. 

"She tell you they used to go out?" His voice was barely audible. 

"Uh...no." 

Sam glanced at him sideways and nodded. "Ended pretty badly. Don't know any specifics though." 

Dean raised an eyebrow. "And how did you find this out?" 

He shrugged. "She told me when we had coffee the other night." 

"Well, you go then, girlfriend," he smirked and sped up a little. 

Sam made a face at his brother's back. "Jerk," he mumbled under his breath. 

"Saw that." 

"Meant for you to." 

"Liar." 

Chloe pressed her hand against an electronic box and waited for it to scan her fingerprints. When the light turned green, she glanced over her shoulder. "You guys coming?" 

Dean caught up to her. "Yeah. Samantha's just running behind." 

She arched an eyebrow. "Oh, I bet he loves that nickname." 

"It's well-earned." 

"Whoa." Sam caught up to them and looked up in time to see a huge fortress-like tower appear. 

Dean glanced at him. "Took you long enough." 

"I was enjoying the scenery," he said, shooting his brother a glare. 

He looked back at Chloe. "See? Nickname well-earned." 

She rolled her eyes skyward. "Come on." She headed into a small lobby-esque area in the building and moved to the elevator. 

Dean walked in first, walking over to the elevator. "Everything's so...chrome." 

"Cost-effective. Gets good heating and air conditioning." 

"That's what all the rich people say." 

"Yeah, I'm rolling in the cash flow," she said wryly. 

"I bet Ollie boy told you that." 

She turned her head to look at him. "He may be rich, but he's one of the most trustworthy, nice guys I've met." 

He held his hands up. "I didn't say he wasn't." 

Sam frowned a little as it sank in just how tense Chloe really was. 

Dean remained quiet on the rest of the ride down. 

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, she caught sight of Clark talking to Oliver in a hushed voice. 

Her jaw tensed a little. "This is the common room," she told the brothers, stepping off the elevator. 

Nodding silently, Dean looked around. 

Sam did too, taking in the comfortable-looking lounge chairs, recliners and sofas. A big screen TV adorned the wall. He guessed it came with DVR and surround-sound. 

"I'll show them around," Chloe said to Oliver, ignoring Clark entirely and moving past them. 

"You know where their rooms are?" Oliver asked carefully. 

"I'm guessing you put them in 14 and 15?" 

"That'd be right." 

Nodding, she headed down the hallway, motioning toward a large room to the right. "Kitchen and dining area. Unless something's labeled, it's a free for all. Help yourselves whenever." 

Dean scanned the kitchen. He knew he'd be spending a lot of time in there. 

"This place is huge," Sam murmured. 

Chloe nodded slightly. "Oliver built it with the idea of giving everyone as much space as possible. Considering what they do...they need their downtime." 

"No kidding," Dean said softly. 

She glanced back at him momentarily, offering a faint smile. "This is the meeting room." She motioned into a room with a very large wooden table in the center. 

"Big table." 

"League's getting bigger all the time." 

Sam nodded and watched her motion to a room across the hall from it. 

"This is our computer office." 

"My God, look at that thing." He'd never seen such a huge computer terminal before. 

"Geek," Dean mumbled. 

Sam was too busy staring to even hear him. 

Shaking her head, Chloe kept walking, pointing out the very large research library next. Then she took them around a corner. "And this is where the rooms start. You guys are 14 and 15. Each room has its own bathroom, so no one has to share." She pointed at doors as they went along. "Oliver, Clark, Bart, A.C., Bruce, Victor..." She indicated the next two doors with the numbers 14 and 15 on them. "You two." 

Dean shifted uncomfortably. "No adjoining door I'm guessing?" 

She shook her head. "Sorry." 

He nodded. "Right." 

"So make yourselves comfortable. When you're here, it's home." She smiled a bit and turned to head down the hall. 

When she left, he turned to Sam. "This'll be fun." 

***

A few hours after the boys had arrived at headquarters, Oliver gathered the JLA in the large meeting room. "I thought I'd call this as our first official meeting with the Winchesters." 

Sam glanced around the room as they stepped inside, taking note of a tall man he recognized from somewhere but had never met, and a pretty woman seated across from him. He nodded at Oliver a little and moved to sit down. 

Dean sat down beside his brother and also looked around the room, there were a few new faces, but other than that, he knew everyone. 

Chloe lingered toward the back of the room, not taking a seat at the table. Her arms were folded across her chest, her expression stony. 

"Bruce Wayne," the vaguely familiar man said, glancing at Sam, then Dean. 

"Geez, how many rich guys are heroes around here?" Dean shook his head. 

Bart snorted. "Just Ollie and Bruce. The rest of us are broke." 

"Speak for yourself," A.C. said indignantly. "I'm not rich but I'm not broke either." 

"Gentlemen," Oliver game them a look. "Can we not bicker now?" 

Bart gave him a sheepish grin and leaned back in his chair. 

He straightened. "Everyone, Sam and Dean Winchester. They're the newest additions to the team, as they have proven that they are a great asset to the League." 

"Dinah Lance. Nice to meet you." She smiled at both of them, but there was something dangerous in her eyes. 

The boys nodded their greeting to her.

"Now since they are on the team, they need their nicknames," Oliver surveyed the room. 

Sam grimaced a little, shooting Dean a warning look. 

At his look, Dean resisted the sarcastic comment he felt bubbling within. 

The room was silent. 

He turned to those who had met the Winchesters earlier. "Any suggestions?" 

"Rifle." Chloe's voice was quiet. 

Bart chuckled. "Winchester. Rifle. Awesome." 

Dean looked at him. "So you're the slow one of the group." 

"Hey." 

"Play nice, boys," Dinah said with a sigh. 

He looked over at the woman. "Sweetheart, that's all I know how to do." 

Her eyes narrowed at him. 

"All right, Rifle for Dean," Oliver interrupted, glancing at Sam. 

"College Boy," Dean coughed. 

Shaking his head a little, Sam resisted the urge to punch his brother in the arm. 

"All right, College Boy it is." Oliver glanced around. "I'm Arrow." He pointed to Bruce. "Batman. Aquaman. Impulse. Superman, Black Canary, Cyborg and..." He looked over at Chloe. "Watchtower." 

Dean smirked when the name was accepted and nodded toward each of them. "Nice to finally meet the team." 

"Now that the introductions have been made, let's move on." 

He sat back in his chair and watched as his brother leaned forward to suck up every detail of what was about to be said. 

"Anyone have news on the Lex Luthor front?" He looked over at Chloe, who remained by the door. She shook her head a little and he turned back to the others. 

Clark shook his head as well. "He's been keeping to himself for the past few weeks." 

"That can't be good," Bart grumbled. 

"What's been his most current project?" Sam asked. 

"The usual. Research for "medical" purposes," Victor said grimly. 

"And his attempts at finding out how to harness the supernatural," Oliver added. 

"And you've been able to stop his attempts so far, right?" 

"So far. But it's Lex Luthor. He's tenacious," Chloe spoke up, leaning back against the wall. 

"Not to mention ruthless," Clark spoke up. 

"He doesn't care who he hurts or what it costs as long as he gets what he wants in the end." 

Sam winced. "Wow." 

"The fact that he's been quiet lately just means he's plotting something new and probably even more nefarious," Oliver surmised, glancing at Sam. 

"So now it's time to prepare for something big that he might be throwing out soon," He surmised. 

He nodded slightly. "In addition to other things we need to deal with." He looked over at Chloe. "Like who tried to assassinate Watchtower." 

Sam nodded. "I can help with that." 

"It was Lex's men." 

Everyone turned to look at her. 

"How do you know?" Oliver questioned. 

"Gut feeling." 

"I'll go check it out," Clark offered. 

Her jaw tensed slightly, but she didn't argue. 

"All right, Clark will check into Lex's whereabouts and what he's doing and see if he had anything to do with the shooting in Illinois." Oliver nodded and glanced around. "Anyone have anything else?" 

The room remained silent as Clark left. 

"Anyone have any updates on cases they're working on?" Oliver asked, glancing around. 

"Don't think there's much else to report," Bart spoke up after a beat. 

"Then I guess we'll dismiss for the night." 

There was a collective murmur as everyone stood up and filed out of the room. 

Chloe, having been by the door already, was the first to disappear into the hallway. 

Dean stood after the room had emptied and glanced down at Sam. "I'm gonna go shower." 

He nodded a bit, leaning forward and quickly getting into a conversation with Victor. 

He shook his head as he left. "Geek boys must run with geek boys." 

****

Chloe had just finished changing into a pair of warm flannel pajamas when she heard the soft knock on her door. She reached out and picked up her robe, sliding it on quickly and tying the sash around her waist before opening it. Her body stiffened a little at the sight of Clark standing before her. 

"Thought I'd tell you there's no sign of Lex still." 

She nodded slightly. "I figured as much." 

"So...Sam Winchester looks like he's going to be a big help," he commented. 

Chloe nodded a bit once more. "Yeah, he will be." 

"Dean was quiet." 

There was a hint of something in his voice that she didn't like. "He'll be fine." 

"It seems like he's just here because his brother said yes." 

She lifted her chin a little. "You don't know him." 

He shrugged. "Just seems like the type." 

Struggling to control her growing annoyance with him, she simply raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't worry about Dean if I were you." 

"I worry about people who flirt with other members of the League. That move in there earlier was uncalled for." 

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

"Him flirting with Dinah." 

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't hardly call that flirting." 

"Call it what you will, but that's what it looked like to me," he folded his arms. 

"Don't you ever get tired of looking down your nose at the rest of us?" 

He raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" 

"You're incredibly judgmental of anyone who doesn't act exactly the way you do, or the way you think they should." 

"I'm just telling you what I see." 

"Here's a thought for you, Clark. Maybe I don't care," she said flatly. 

"So is that the attitude you had when you went into that warehouse?" He raised an eyebrow. 

She narrowed her eyes. "I don't need a lecture from you." 

"I beg to differ," his voice was low. 

"Your 'right' to lecture me ended a year ago," she said coldly. 

He glared. "You wanna talk about 'rights'? You had no right to go in alone without telling anyone where you were going. And you didn't have the right to push me away." 

"I didn't push you away!" 

"Like hell you didn't." 

"No, I didn't push you away, Clark," she said vehemently, shaking her head. 

"Deny it all you want." 

"You know what I remember?" She stepped toward him, eyes flashing with anger. "I remember walking in on and you and Lois. *That's* what broke us up." 

"You were gone long before that ever happened." 

"Maybe I didn't give you my full, one hundred percent attention the way you were used to, but if that's what our relationship was based on, then clearly you never really loved me to begin with." As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how true they were. He'd never loved her. Not the way he'd loved Lana. Not the way he loved Lois. 

"Never have truer words been spoken," he said darkly, turning away. 

Tears stung her eyes, but she wasn't about to let him see her cry. How had it come to this? How had they been so close and now were farther apart than ever? She blinked back the tears. "Well, at least you're honest about it." 

"It's what I stand for." 

"Being a cold-hearted bastard? Yeah. You've got that down perfectly," she said coldly, stepping back into her room and shutting the door in his face. 

Moments later, Sam was in the hallway, looking at Clark, stunned. "What the hell was that about?" 

The guilt was already hitting him full-force. He couldn't believe he'd just said that to Chloe. To the one person who'd always stood by him no matter what. He ran a hand over his face wearily. "It was personal." He started to walk away. 

"Yeah? Even what you said about my brother?" 

He stopped and turned to face Sam. "You were spying on us?" 

"No. You were talking _loudly_ ," He stood up to full height, inches above Clark's head. "And if I _ever_ hear you saying anything bad about my brother again, I don't care how super you are, you'll regret it." 

Without responding, Clark headed away, stalking down the hall toward his room and slamming the door shut a moment later. 

Sam rubbed his temples as the door shut and turned as Dean's door opened.

"I heard shouting. What's going on?" 

"Hurricane Superman strikes again," he mumbled. 

He glanced across the hall. "And Chloe?" 

Sam looked at her door. "I don't know," he admitted. 

He stepped fully out of his room and over to her door, knocking softly. 

"I'm gonna..." Sam motioned toward his room. 

Dean nodded, then turned his attention back to the door. 

"Go away." The voice on the other side of the door was muffled. 

"Chloe, it's Dean." 

There was a moment of silence, then her door opened. Her eyes were red-rimmed. "I'm okay." 

"You don't sound like it," he said softly. 

She looked away as her eyes watered. "No. But I will be." 

"Can I come in?" 

She closed her eyes. "Dean...I really just need to be alone right now." 

"Okay," he stepped away. "You know where to find me." 

"Goodnight," she said quietly, closing the door again. 

"Night," he murmured to the closed door before turning around and heading back into his own room. If Clark wasn't invincible, he'd go punch the bastard in the face for making Chloe cry.


End file.
